Method of making boots and shoes.



A. L. RUSSELL.

METHOD OF MAKING BOOTS AND SHOES.

APPLICATION nun) AUG. 16. I915.

Patented July 18, 1916.

m'rns PATENT ora ion ARTHUR L. RUSSELL, 0E BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW- JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF JERSEY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J lily 18, 1916.

Original application filed August 29, 1910, Serial No. 579,580. Divided and this application filed August 16, 1915. Serial No. 45,778.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ARTHUR L. RUssnLL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suifolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Methods of Making Boots and Shoes, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates-to the manufacture of boots and shoes and consist-s in a novel method of making shoes, particularly welt shoes. It is the one present custom to make welt shoes on a last which will remain in the shoe throughout the several making operations until the shoe reaches the finishing room, while on the other hand, it is sometimes the practice to withdraw the last temporarily during the heeling operation and then return the same last or a filler last to the shoe for completing the making operations. If the heeling is done with the last in the shoe, a particularly strong last must be employed'which is more expensively constructed than a last which does not require this special strength and even such a strong last is not satisfactorily durable, whileit is heavy to handle because of the strong construction required. On the other hand, the removal of the'last for the heeling operation and the return of the last or filler to the shoe,

, distort the shoe at a stage in its manufacture when the materials have not become permanently set in conformity to the shape of the last. This distortion of the shoe while it is in its formative stage is seriously objected to by manufacturers of high grade shoes, while the labor cost-involved in removing and reinserting lasts is a material consideration in making cheaper grades of shoes.

An object of the present invention is to secure substantially the advantages ofboth systems, and also additional advantages, and

to avoid the main disadvantages of both systems. To this end, this invention contemplates fastening against rearward displacement, the fore part of a last over which a shoe is made, moving a rear part only of the last to uncover the surface that is to be engaged by the supporting member of the heel attaching machine in the heel attaching operation, and completing the shoemaking operations either without the rear part of the last or with a returned rear part.

The fore part and rear'part of the last employed will preferably be formed relatively so that the fore part will maintain the shoe in shape from the heel stiffener forwardly. By-the important step of fastening the fore part against displacement rearwardly all of the portions of the shoe which particularly need support will be maintained in undisturbed shape. The rear part can be moved without subjectingthe shoe to any hurtful distortion and the heel can be attached as readily as ifthe entire last were removed. The rear part can be returned after the heeling operation because the upper materials of the heel part of the shoe are not under such tension as is the upper of thetensioned partsfof the shoe during the remaining making operations and while these parts of-the shoe are drying and setting on the last. One practical advantage of completing the shoe on the fore part only is that the shoe is lighter to handle without the rear part of the last in it and another advantage is that the rear part can be immediately put with another fore part for the lasting, welting and soling of, another shoe so that the complement of the rear parts required for a factory may be substantially less than that now needed.

Theinvention will now be described as carried out with the assistance of the novel last and inner'sole holder disclosed in my prior application Serial No. 579,580 filed Aug. 29, 1910, of which the present application isa division.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents in section and side elevation a last embodying this invention and located in operative position within a shoe. The heel part of the last is shown in dotted lines to. indicate its.

against the shoe innersole to restrain it from rearward displacement by the tensioned upper when the heel part is withdrawn for the heeling operation. Figs. 2 and 3 are perspective views, respectively, of the heel part and the fore part of the separable last. Fig. 4 shows an arrangement for use in mounting innersoles on the new last.

The fore part of the last is indicated at 2 and the heel part at 1, the line of separation between them being located back of the ends of the heel stiffener. The heel part has in its front face a plate 10 from which project forwardly and downwardly two claws or hooks 12 adapted to extend into slots in the fore part and to hook over and in front of a cross bar 16 which is set into the fore part just below the rearwardly inclined edge of the fore part. The plate 10 also has forwardly directed fingers 1 1 which are located directly below the hooks 12 and are spaced from the ends of said hooks a distance slightly less than the width of the bar 16. These fingers have upper faces adapted to hook under the bar 16 after the hooks 12 have first been hooked over said bar and the heel part of the last has been tipped from an upwardly and forwardly turned position down toward its operative position. The hooks and fingers thus embrace the bar 16 to prevent any relative movement of the two parts of the assembled last except the predetermined upward and forward turning of the heel part relatively to the fore part. For the purpose of restraining such movement eXcept when the two parts are to be separated the heel part is provided with a strut 2O pivoted thereto and of such a length as to cause the lower end of the strut to wedge against the fore part of the last and to lock the strut down by such wedging action. A friction face plate 21 may be provided on the fore part for engagement by the strut. A stop 22 is located to prevent the strut from falling too low and the heel part is cut away to permit the strut to be turned upwardly for allowing the heel part to be tipped forwardly on the cross bar 16 to a position for disengagement from the fore part. The location of the bar 16 and the center of such tipping movement of the heel part will be selected to give a minimum of lengthening of the last as the heel part is turned up for removal from a shoe the upper of which is under tension from the lasting operation, or is turned down for replacement after the heeling operation.

The fore part of the last is recessed longitudinally from its rear face to receive the lever 25 which is fulcrumed on a pin 26 and has the rearwardly extending and in clined pivoted spur 28 and the oppositely inclined pivoted spur 30. To the lever is also pivoted the connecting rod 32 which eX- tends to and operates the rocker 34 which turns on pin 36 and from which depends the forwardly inclined spur 35. The bottom of the fore part has a metallic face-plate 10, which may be an inset plate, conveniently made of a suitable thickness of sheet metal formed with guide openings for the spurs 28, 30 and 35. Guide flanges 12 for the spurs can be struck up in forming the guide openings. The lever 25 has a conveniently formed operating head 45 shown as a laterally oflset lip adapted to lie close against the face of the rear end of the fore part when the lever is rocked to set the spurs into the innersole. It will be noted that the spurs are all arranged to be projected out wardly through the plate 40 and driven into the innersole by a movement of the operating lever in one direction and to be retracted by reverse movement of the lever. The spur 28 is inclined downwardly and rearwardly and serves to brace and fasten the fore part of the last firmly in the fore part of the shoe and securely retain it against rearward displacement or movement in the direction to permit relaxation of the upper which has been tensioned over it in the lasting operation. The reverse inclination of the spurs 30 and 35 prevents the innersole from being displaced lengthwise of the last as the spurs are all simultaneously forced into it. The heel part may conveniently be used to engage the lip 45 for actuating the operating lever to drive the spurs into the innersole, said heel part for this purpose being turned up to engage the lip by impact, or pressure if preferred. In this way a sharp blow can be struck on the lever to set the spurs firmly into the work. For mounting innersoles on this last the inner-soles will conveniently be arranged in holders 17 in stacks of assorted sizes and rights and lefts against a toe end gage 18 and a side gage 49 as in Fig. 4 and the fore part of the last pressed down upon the top of the stack with its fore part also positioned against the gages.

It is of course desirable to avoid inaccuracy in the placing of the last relative to the innersole due to failure to place the last exactly vertically upon the innersole. This is accomplished in the apparatus described by placing the side gage 49 on the outside of the forepart of the last where the last is thinner, and the contact point of the last with the gage consequently almost coincides with the edge of the tread face. A slight rocking of the last out of the vertical will therefore make no appreciable difference in the position of the innersole on the tread face of the last. It is desirable also to support the innersole firmly against the last opposite the spurs to facilitate their proper engagement with the innersole. in the ap paratus shown this end is accomplished by providing the holder with supporting members 56, 58, arranged under the shank and ball, and having curved upper faces to bend the innersoles in accordance with the curvature of the tread face of the last. The member 56 bends the innersole up into close contact with the shank portion of the last. Each of the members 56, 58 has positioning fingers to engage holes in the base to space said members adjustably for sizes of innersoles. After the fore part of the last has been pressed down upon the top innersole of a stack so supported the heel part will be turned up to apply pressure, or to strike a sharp blow, against the lip as of the operating lever to force the spurs into the innersole. The projection of the two spurs 28, 30 in opposite directions into the shank of the innersole while it is held firmly in contact with the shank portion of the last by the member 56 will secure the innersole closely to the last at this point.

For use in turning and lifting the heel part of the last the tool 50 is employed which comprises the pivotally connected members 52 the handle ends of which are held separated by the spring 54: to contact the last engaging ends for ready insertion into the thimble of the last. Compression of the handle ends expands the opposite ends.

'be'required for doing that thanan operator can conveniently apply with his finger or thumb. The strut 20 may conveniently have a projection 23 to overlie head or lip 45 for preventing accidental retraction of the innersole engaging spurs, or a retainer having this function may be carried by the fore part of the last. hile in the apparatus shown, the heel part is entirely removed for the heeling operation, it is obvious that my in vention may be practised by displacing it sufliciently to give access to the heel seat of the innersole for this operation.

In the practice of this invention an inner sole, which will preferably have been previously put into proper temper by m0istening, will be mounted on the last bottom. This may be advantageously done by pressing the last fore part firmly down upon an innersole in the holder 47, the innersole and the last being both positioned against the gages 4L8, 49 to assure proper relation, and by then actuating the lever 25 to force the several spurs simultaneously into the inner face of the innersole. The reverse inclination of the spurs provides against displacement of the innersole lengthwise as the spurs are forced into it and prevents any longitudinal movement of the last fore part relatively to the innersole while the spurs remain in engagement with the innersole. The operation of the lever 25 may be effected. by hand pressure on the lip 45 and by pressing against or striking it with the heel part which, can be turned for that pur-' pose by the use of the tool 50 if desired. The heel part of the last is then locked'in extended operative position by the strut 20.

Having positioned and secured the innersole on the last bottom the shoe is assembled, pulled over, lasted, welted and outsoled as usual and as is well understood. Preparatory to the heel attaching operation the strut 20 is loosened, the heel part is turned up and then lifted to remove it from the shoe, the tool 50 being again used, if desired, for manipulating the heel part. The fore part is, however, retained in the shoe and its longitudinal position is maintained by the fastening or bracing effected by the spurs and particularly by the spur 28. This prevents any rearward displacement of the fore partby the action of the tensioned upper or otherwise, so that the tensioned upper is maintained under lasting tension while the process of setting or acquiring permanently the shape of the last continues uninterruptedly. Also the space from which the heel part of the last has been removed is not contracted for rearward movement of the fore part and therefore the heel part can, if desired, be reinserted easily and without straining or distortin the upper. WVith the heel part of the last removed the heel is.

attached, and breasted also if desired, on an anvil, which occupies the place of the heel part of the last. Then if desired the heel part can be replaced by reversing the manipulations by which it was unlocked and withdrawn. The heel part need not, however, be returned to the shoe for the fastened fore part sustains all the soft parts of the shoe against distortion by handling, the fore part preferably extending rearwardly of the ends of the heel stiffener, and the shoe isi lighter with the heel part of the last out o it.

When the shoe is completed the lever 25 will be manipulated to disengage the spurs from the innersole and the last will be withdrawn from the shoe. The lip 55 of tool 50 may be used if desired to engage under the head 45 of the lever for withdrawing the spurs.

The advantages of this method will be apparent from the foregoing description. It is apparent that many of the advantages of this method are obtained by so moving a rear part of a last as to give access to the portion of the heel seat face of the innersole through which the heel attaching nails are to be driven, whether or not the entire heel portion of the last is moved to uncover the heel seat. This method is intended to be protected by the annexed claims. A last adapted for use in thus practising this invention is claimed in a copending applica tion Serial No. 77,762, filed February 11, 1916, by F. L. Alley.

The novel last disclosed herein is claimed in my parent application No. 579,580, filed August 29, 1910, and is not claimed in this application; the novel combination of a last having gripping means with a holder for innersoles disclosed herein is not claimed in this application since it is claimed in an application No. 45,777, filed Aug. 16, 1915, which is likewise a division of my parent application No. 579,580.

Having therefore explained the nature of this invention and described how it may be practised, I claim,

1. That improvement in.methods of making shoes which comprises lasting and soling a shoe on a last having a separable heel part, securing the fore part of the last to the shoe in a manner to prevent movement thereof in a direction to permit relaxation of the lasting tension under which the upper is held, displacing the heel part of the last to uncover the heel seat, and attaching the heel to the shoe while the shoe is maintained in shape by the fore part of the last.

2. That improvement in methods of making shoes which comprises lasting a shoe and laying the outersole on a last having a separable heel part, fastening the shoe interiorly to the fore part of the last, withdrawing the heel part of the last, and heeling and finishing the shoe while the heel part is withdrawn and the fore part of the shoe is maintained in shape by the fore part of the last.

3. That improvement in methods of making shoes which comprises lasting and soling a shoe on a last having a separable rear part, maintaining the fore part of the last against rearward movement in the shoe, moving said rear part to uncover a surface for engagement by a supporting member, supporting the shoe on said member, and attaching the heel While the fore part of the shoe is maintained under tension over the fore part of the last.

4. That improvement in methods of making shoes which comprises so fastening a last to the inner side of an innersole at a plurality of points that the innersole will be held in assembled position on the last and the fore part of the last will be re strained from movement toward the rear end of the innersole, assembling, lasting and soling the shoe, moving the heel part of the last to uncover the heel seat while the fore part of the last is so restrained from dis placement, attaching the heel, finishing the shoe and finally unfastening the fore part of the last from the innersole and removing it from the shoe.

5. That improvement in methods of making shoes which comprises superposing at the toe end an innersole and a last having retracted spurs, pressing the last and innersole into intimate contact at points sul stantially opposite to the spurs, projecting the spurs into the innersole, lasting and soling the shoe, removing the heel part of the last, attaching the heel of the shoe while the fore part of the shoe is maintained un der tension by the fore part of the last, and withdrawing the spurs from the innersole and the fore part of the last from the shoe when the fore part of the shoe has become set on the last.

6. That improvement in methods of making shoes which comprises positioning relatively to toe end and side gages an innersole and a last having retracted spurs, located at the front and rear of its shank, bending the innersole into the shank of the last and securing the innersole in such bent relation to the last by projecting the spurs into the innersole in directions which are oppositely inclined lengthwise of the last.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ARTHUR L. RUSSELL.

Copies of thispatent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C.

It is hereby certified that inLetters Patent No. 1,191,832, granted July 18, 1916,

upon the application of Arthur L. Russell, of Boston, Massachusetts, for an improvement in Methods of Making Boots and Shoes, errors appear in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 3, line 89, for the Word tensioned read tempered; same page, line 95, for the word for read by; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Ofiice.

Signed and sealed this 24th day of October, A. 1)., 1916.

[SEAL] F. W. H. CLAY,

Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

